Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is reportedly coming to Brooklyn Center to explain his new health care reform plan to a state that now has a record high 95 percent of its citizens with health care coverage, thanks in part to its Democratic Governor embracing Obamacare.
Spoiler alert: Governor Walker, who is running for the GOP presidential nod these days, has already telegraphed the centerpieces of his plan. In a National Review oped this week, Walker wrote:
“We must do all of this while ensuring affordable coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.”
At the same time, Governor Walker has long opposed the Obamacare insurance mandate.
“Our plan calls for reducing health care costs through market-driven solutions, not by forcing us to buy an expensive health care mandate.”
At first blush, embracing a ban on pre-existing conditions and excluding an insurance mandate seems like pure political gold. It maintains the most popular part of Obamacare, while replacing the least popular part of it. Why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?
Here’s why: Walker’s logic path quickly collapses as soon as you start connecting the dots.
Q. If we simultaneously tell Americans, 1) “no matter what illness or injury you encounter, insurance companies must pay your bills” and 2) “you don’t have to buy an insurance policy,” what will Americans do?
A. Americans will wait until they get sick or hurt before they buy insurance. And really, why wouldn’t we, particularly in our younger years? After all, in such a wacky Walkercare world, the moment someone buys coverage, their medical bills get paid, so why would anyone volunteer to pay for protection when they’re healthy?
What’s the problem with that, you ask?
Well, let’s go further down the logic path.
Q. If Americans waits until they get hurt or sick before they buy health insurance, what will happen to the pool of available premium dollars insurance companies use to pay for patients’ medical bills?
A. That pool of money will quickly dry up.
Big deal, you say. We all hate those insurance companies anyway, right?
But keep asking questions.
Q. If the insurance company’s pool of money for paying medical bills gets used up, what will happen then?
A. Insurance companies will go out of business. Then, we won’t be able to get private insurance coverage, health care providers’ bills will go unpaid, and the entire health care system will melt down.
So Governor Walker’s pitch to keep Obamacare’s pre-existing ban and repeal Obamacare’s insurance mandate is politically popular, but infeasible a policy level. It would pretty quickly implode the private health insurance system conservatives laud.
So, why is Governor Walker coming to Minnesota to promote a reform plan like that? It seems like there are two possibilities: 1) He isn’t bright enough to connect those dots or 2) He is bright enough to connect the dots, but doesn’t think Americans are, so he is using this plan as a cynical ploy to get elected. It feels like the latter, and I’m not sure that makes me feel any better about our neighbor Scott.